Being Good Sucks
If being good were as easy as most cartoons make it out to be, everyone would be alright. Truth is, sometimes Being Good Sucks. Doing the right thing doesn't always feel good which it can be painful, even harmful, to yourself and others. Being good requires a Heroic Sacrifice, keeping your word and thinking of others before yourself. It means swallowing your pride, owning up to and apologizing for your mistakes. It means doing the above without expecting a reward (even a spoken thank you), refusing one if offered, and most ego-crushing, accepting the punishment for being good. The variations are endless, but below is a condensed catalog: *Sacrificing your own happiness: It can be any type of happiness, but the heroes denying the romance to protect their love Interest *Giving up your ambitions: Usually these are selfish or dark ambitions, and denying them helps the character in the long run. When a character wants Revenge for the murder of a loved one in a world which it will cost them dearly. However, this can extend to less dark goals, when Ambition Is Evil. *Good behaviour. Obvious as it is, being good requires acting good. This means sharing, forgiving others, not killing people and generally acting contrary to one's impulses to those who dislike. *Humility and honesty. Honesty is a big source of Suck when being good. It means that any wrong doing on your part (or your friends') must be revealed. Worse, it means denying and obeying the law. The character may find that to do what is right means going against stupid laws, becoming a wanted man, separated from loved ones, with their "reputation" ruined. *Being good would require the character to stop being nice. Whether it's telling an uncomfortable truth, or calling out your loved ones for their mistakes, the character will have to put aside their nice attitude and do what they have to do for the sake of doing what's right. The character will not enjoy this at all, but this will cause other characters to hate and resent the hero for making tough decisions that he is morally obligated to do. *Redemption: A character realizing that Being Evil Sucks will turn to the side of good, only to find out that it comes at a price since Redemption Equals Affliction. This means the character has to put aside their ego and acknowledge that they are in the wrong, accept their karmic punishment, and work to regain the trust and respect from others, even if people aren't willing to forgive or at least forget what they've done. *Giving up on a Love Interest, so that they can be truly happy with someone else, or somewhere else, or doing something else. You may end up with someone else...or you may end up a Celibate Hero or dead. Examples Anime and Manga Comics Animated Films *TBA Live-Action Films *Peter Parker do love Mary Jane, but is worried about her safety after the final battle of The Green Goblin and can't tell her how he really feel about her by hiding it. Literature Live Action TV Video Games *Cole MacGrath: Ever since accused for caused the Ray Sphere explosion that led the Empire City to be quarantined due to resultant energy pollution caused several citizens became sick and evil conduits shows up to made everyone's life within the city became the living hell, this is the ordeal that Cole must face. Those whom he knew became distrustful with him and many people even loathes him for the incident. Fortunately, his confrontation with Moya give him the chance to redeem himself by trying to help people as a superhero, though he eventually have his own choice on how he would be a true hero. Western Animation Gallery Coming Soon! Category:About Heroes Category:Heroic Symbolism